Terminate with extreme prejudice

Termination with extreme prejudice refers to is supposed to refer only to the assasination of one's own employee. Generally used in espionage circles, although it's certainly possible for any particularly unethical employer to apply it.

It's meant to be a bit of a pun on the phrase "termination with prejudice," with the "termination" in this case referring both to the end of the employee's employment with that particular employer, as well as to the end of their life. In espionage and military circles, though, it is never used to describe killing a foreign agent.

This term was popularized in Apocalypse Now. It describes Capt. Willard's (Martin Sheen)'s mission. He's sent into the jungles of Vietnam to terminate Col. Kurtz.

The main difference in translation from the book, Heart of Darkness, to the movie is that (in the book) Marlow is not on a mission to terminate Kurtz; Kurtz merely dies while Marlow brings him back to the colony. Part of Marlow does want him dead, however.

Just in Hollywood terms, it makes the story a lot easier to understand if Willard knows his motive. One of the harder things to grasp in the book is what propels Marlow along at all; mainly it's just morbid curiosity. This wouldn't go over well in a Vietnam war flick.